Miguel Suarez and his family found an affordable refuge in the historic Lathrop Homes, among an eclectic mix of neighbors who encouraged him as he went back to school. But under the Chicago Housing Authority's latest proposals for remaking the sprawling housing complex he's called home for more than 20 years, more of Suarez's neighbors would be private homeowners, paying market rate for the prime location. With its development group, the Lathrop Community Partners,...

The Chicago Housing Authority's board of commissioners has agreed to loan a developer more than $3.4 million to continue planning the fate of the historic Lathrop Homes, officials said. The loan to Lathrop Community Partners will pay for predevelopment work, including architectural and engineering design and development and technical reports. The action is the agency's most recent step toward determining how the low-rise public housing complex on the North Side will eventually look.

SEOUL (Reuters) - LG Electronics Inc aims to broaden its range of smartphones so sales this year grow at double the rate of the market, as the South Korean company seeks to retake the position of world's third-biggest maker. LG, who slipped behind Huawei Technologies Co last year with a market share of just under 5 percent, also plans to sell a smartwatch capable of connecting with rivals' phones, mobile division president Park Jong-seok told reporters ahead...

By Malena Castaldi MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguayans will be allowed to buy enough marijuana to roll about 20 joints a week at a price well below the black market rate, the government said on Tuesday as it detailed a new law legalizing the cannabis trade. Congress in December approved a law allowing the cultivation and sale of marijuana, making Uruguay the first country to do so, with the aim of wresting the business from criminals. Leftist President Jose Mujica signed a...

The city is selling long vacant land on the Near West Side to a residential developer who will build a small market-rate condo project near the United Center and Henry Horner public housing complex. North suburban Delwar Construction will pay $165,000 for the 2,482-square-foot parcel at 2243 W. Warren Blvd. That's the appraised market-rate price for city-owned land. The city Community Development Commission approved the sale last month. Delwar consists Parviz Mohagheghpour, a civil...

DUBAI (Reuters) - A sharp drop in the rial currency reveals heavy pressure on Iran's economy as President Hassan Rouhani struggles to deliver higher living standards and shore up domestic political support for a nuclear deal with world powers. The rial's free market rate against the U.S. dollar sank to 33,000 this week, a fall of 9 percent from around 30,000 in early April, according to Iranian currency trading websites. Central bank governor Valiollah Seif issued a...

City officials are seeking market-rate residential developers for six vacant, city-owned parcels in North Lawndale. The noncontiguous parcels, on Kedzie Avenue between Flournoy and Taylor Streets, comprise 25 city-owned lots and total about 3 acres. Officials from the Department of Planning and Development will issue a request for proposals March 26, seeking developers who will build market-rate condominiums and town homes on the sites. They are zoned C1-2 or B4-2, but will be...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Investors see Venezuela's new free-floating foreign exchange system as an important step toward improving the country's stretched finances, but economists question whether it can provide enough dollars to kick-start the economy. The Sicad 2 mechanism opened on Monday and has offered dollars at around 51 bolivars, or eight times the official rate. After 11 years of currency controls, critics said the launch of Sicad 2 amounts to a devaluation of 88...

Thirty-six market rate townhouses are being built on 2 1/2 acres at 1630-54 S. Albany Ave. The developer of Albany Park Townhouses began construction on the first phase last June. Now that they are finished, Albany Park LLC has received necessary city approval to go forward with the larger project, extending south of Ogden Avenue along Albany Avenue. Albany Park LLC is a limited liability partnership between Boulevard Realty Services Corp. and Deval Corp., a small, two-year-old...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela unveiled currency regulations on Tuesday to help usher in a new foreign exchange platform to combat black market trading, promising the much-delayed system would start in coming days. The Sicad 2 platform adds a third exchange rate to the country's 11-year-old currency controls that sell dollars at 6.3 bolivars for preferential goods and around 11 for other items. Officials say it will help lower the price of dollars on the black market, where...

Forty-three market-rate apartments have been developed in the Washington Park neighborhood as part of the rehabilitation of a former CHA building, marking a new beginning for residents and leaders in the western portion of the South Side community. Washington Park, which runs from 51st to 61st Streets, and from Cottage Grove Avenue to railroad tracks along Wentworth Avenue, was once a bastion of middle-class life. The area's vacant lots and neglected buildings multiplied after 1970,...

By Brad Haynes and Kevin Gray BUENOS AIRES, Feb 28 (Reuters) - At a soup kitchen in a Buenos Aires slum, Alejandro Monzon hung his head as he stood in line and recounted how his fortunes have unraveled over the last year. Food prices have soared, the 29-year-old maintenance worker complained, squeezing his meager monthly budget and leaving him reliant on charity to keep his wife and six children fed. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this," he...

- The Securities and Exchange Commission said it revoked the registration of Profile Investments Corp., a Florida-based brokerage firm that has an office in Chicago. The SEC said the company charged above the market rate for some securities and gave customers false confirmations of transactions.

CARACAS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Venezuela on Monday eased restrictions on the purchase and sale of hard currency, paving the way for a new foreign exchange platform meant to boost businesses' access to dollars under an 11-year-old currency control system. The reform of the Currency Crimes Law allows businesses and individuals to participate in currency transactions, lifting previous restrictions that required all such operations to be carried out by the...

SEOUL (Reuters) - LG Electronics Inc aims to broaden its range of smartphones so sales this year grow at double the rate of the market, as the South Korean company seeks to retake the position of world's third-biggest maker. LG, who slipped behind Huawei Technologies Co last year with a market share of just under 5 percent, also plans to sell a smartwatch capable of connecting with rivals' phones, mobile division president Park Jong-seok told reporters ahead...

As a resident of the Near North Side, I have some reservations about the Near North Redevelopment Initiative. Although change is necessary and desirable, it must result in a diverse community where people from different backgrounds and economic status can work, live and shop in harmony. It must also allow for the creation of a diverse neighborhood that will be stable and viable for many decades. I do not believe that the percentages proposed in the initiative will bring about the desired changes on a...

AMC Networks has filed a 10-page response to the lawsuit initiated in December by Frank Darabont over profits and payments related to " The Walking Dead ." AMC flatly denies the allegations of self-dealing that are at the heart of Darabont's suit, filed in New York's State Supreme Court in December. SEE ALSO: 'Walking Dead' Creator Sues AMC Over Profits Darabont maintained that AMC improperly limited his profit participation in...